By Preeti Talwai

Preeti Talwai, an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, has had a front-row seat as two of Berkeley’s newest buildings have arisen within sight of her downtown apartment. Here she reports on the impact watching the emergence of the two structures has had on her, not least in the way the sites became an extension of her classroom.

At the usually quiet intersection of Hearst Avenue and Oxford Street at the northwest corner of the UC Berkeley campus, years of planning, earth-moving, and manual labor have culminated in two significant assets to UC Berkeley’s longstanding tradition of excellence in scientific research.

In spring 2012, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences made its official appearance on the university’s online schedule of classes, welcoming students into a variety of classes ranging from “Forms of Folklore” and “Earthquakes in your Backyard”, to courses in neurobiology, biochemistry and physiology. … Continue reading »